


Under Pressure Precious Things Can Break

by TheAddict4Dramatics



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Drunken Confessions, F/M, Fluff, Insecurity, Mutual Pining, Pining, Sexism, That old chestnut, drunk secretaries, institutionalised sexism, of course
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:20:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26882800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAddict4Dramatics/pseuds/TheAddict4Dramatics
Summary: “Does she feel the same way about you, do you think? I can never tell. You’re easy enough to read but she’s more difficult. I can never tell if she feels the same or if she’s just indulging you.”A heavy silence followed Arlene’s evaluation. Scully felt her gut begin to churn. Is that what people saw? That he was hopelessly in love with her and she was some cold, ice queen that gave nothing back. That she indulged him. But Mulder knew the truth, he knew how she really felt.“I don’t know.” Mulder said quietly and Scully’s heart stopped cold for a moment...“Shit.” Arlene exclaimed. “You’re in just as deep as I am.”The tags say it all.
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully, Skinner/Arlene, Walter Skinner/Other(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 47





	Under Pressure Precious Things Can Break

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Please Don't Say You Love Me by Gabrielle Aplin 
> 
> Drunk, sassy but sad, in love with Skinner, Arlene is really fun to write.

Scully walked out of the bathroom and headed towards the exit where Mulder was collecting their coats. For a non-optional work event she had had a surprisingly good time, especially considering the event was in honour of Deputy Director Kersh. Skinner had made it clear it was in no way optional unless they wanted to be grounded on desk duty for the foreseeable so she had dressed up and dragged herself to it, listening to Mulder grumble the whole way there about how they had much better things to be doing on a Friday night. And lately that was certainly true. The better things they had to be doing being, in the main, each other.

Scully smiled as she thought about the last few weeks. She couldn’t quite believe they had actually got there or that it had taken seven years to do so. Thank god she never knew how good that mouth of his was for activities besides sprouting crackpot theories – she would have jumped him years ago, she almost wished she had but for once it seemed timing was on their side.

As she approached the exit she heard voices, one of which was Mulder’s and the other unfamiliar but it sounded like an intoxicated female. It wasn’t surprising, the alcohol had been free flowing and when the bureau was paying the agents weren’t known for their restraint.

“Let me call you a cab.” Mulder said to the woman as Scully rounded the corner. She stopped short in surprise when she saw who he was talking to. Arlene, Skinner’s secretary, was literally being propped up by a very uncomfortable looking Mulder. Scully had never seen Arlene be anything but the picture of professionalism before.

“I don’t want to go home.” Arlene insisted, though it sounded more like a whine. Scully saw that she was crying. She felt instantly sorry for the woman, something must have happened.

“No? What do you want then?” Mulder asked her.

“I just want him to notice me. I want him to see me as something other than his phone answerer or his door guard.” Arlene slurred her way through the explanation.

Scully’s eyes widened as she saw the surprise also register on Mulder’s face. There would be no doubt who she was talking about then. Scully had always assumed it had been the other way round – that Skinner was the one that was soft on Arlene. She’d caught more than one lingering look in his secretary’s direction but clearly those had all been missed by Arlene.

“I want him to like me.” The poor woman sounded devastated. “Am I so unlikeable?”

“Of course you’re not. I think he does like you, he just doesn’t want to overstep any boundaries and make you feel uncomfortable.”

She agreed with Mulder’s assessment. The last thing Skinner would want was to make Arlene feel uncomfortable, especially as he didn’t think his feelings were reciprocated. The situation was so painfully familiar she could have laughed.

“You’re wrong!” Arlene declared resolutely before she started crying again.

“Please, let me take you home. All of this will seem better once the alcohol has worn off.”

Arlene wiped her eyes and looked up at him. Scully thought she was about to accept his offer but suddenly she launched herself at him and kissed him straight on the lips. Mulder stumbled backwards at once, prising himself out of her grip. Scully blanched. She knew Arlene was having a bad night and clearly her affections lay elsewhere but that was still Scully’s man she was coming onto.

“See! You don’t like me either. I’m horrible and unlikeable and he’s never going to love me!” Arlene wailed in the face of her fresh rejection.

“No,” Mulder denied. “You’re very likeable and I’m flattered…” He was interrupted by a bitter sounding laugh from Arlene.

“Don’t be flattered. I just thought since neither of us could go home with who we really wanted to we might as well go home with each other and have some fun.” Scully was confused by what she meant by that. And she was confused how Arlene thought going home with a woman sobbing over another man would be anyone’s definition of fun. 

“What do you mean?” Mulder asked with genuine confusion. “Who do I want to go home with?” Arlene snorted in reply.

“Really? You’re going to try and deny it?” Mulder opened his mouth to respond but he didn’t get the chance. Arlene suddenly seemed a lot more sober as she fixed him with an intent stare and said: “I’ve seen the way you look at her. You love her.” It wasn’t a question but a clear statement of fact. “You’ve loved her for a long time, I don’t think you can still be in denial about it.”

There was only one person she could be talking about. Despite neither party being aware of her presence Scully felt her cheeks grow hot. She should have announced her arrival straight away and then she could have avoided all of this. Mulder did not ask any more questions or try any sort of denial. He was looking at Arlene like he had no idea of how to respond.

“Does she feel the same way about you, do you think? I can never tell. You’re easy enough to read but she’s more difficult. I can never tell if she feels the same or if she’s just indulging you.”

A heavy silence followed Arlene’s evaluation. Scully felt her gut begin to churn. Is that what people saw? That he was hopelessly in love with her and she was some cold, ice queen that gave nothing back. That she indulged him. But Mulder knew the truth, he knew how she really felt.

“I don’t know.” Mulder said quietly and Scully’s heart stopped cold for a moment. He didn’t know how she felt about him. And she didn’t know if he was just saying that to keep a cover on their relationship or if that was how he actually felt. If he was acting he was doing a good job of it – he looked convincing and sad as hell.

“Shit.” Arlene exclaimed. “You’re in just as deep as I am.”

Suddenly Scully heard footsteps behind her. She turned to see Skinner leaving the room of the main party, striding towards her with purpose.

“Evening Sir.” Scully said as he saw her. She winced at how thick her voice sounded, her head still reeling from what she had just overheard.

“Evening Agent Scully. Have you seen my secretary Arlene? Apparently she was upset earlier and now no one seems to know where she is.” Scully gestured to the exit where Arlene was still stood talking to Mulder. Skinner approached them at once. “Is everything alright?” Both Arlene and Mulder turned in surprise. “Arlene, has something happened?” Skinner asked in genuine concern as he saw what state she was in.

“I’m fine. Everything’s fine.” Arlene replied with heavy tears in her voice. It was entirely unconvincing. Skinner turned to Mulder for an explanation but the later just shrugged his shoulders, feigning all ignorance. There was little else he could do. “I just need to go home.” Arlene said.

“Of course. Has a cab been called?”

“I was just about to but I didn’t know the address.” Mulder explained.

“No need, I’ll take her home. Come on.” His last words were directed at Arlene and much softer than the ones barked at Mulder. Arlene nodded and walked over to Skinner who immediately took off his jacket and covered her shaking shoulders with it. “Take this, it’s cold out.”

The pair left, Skinner’s arm around Arlene’s shoulders and at last Scully approached the exit.

“Don’t ask me what all of that was about because I’m not sure I know.” Mulder said lightly. His voice was so different to what it had been only moments before when he quietly confessed to Arlene that he didn’t know whether Scully loved him or not. Scully forced out a smile and accepted Mulder’s help getting into her coat. “Ready to get out of here?”

“Definitely.” She affirmed. And by god did she mean it.

They walked the short distance to Mulder’s car in silence. When they reached it Mulder went to walk to the driver’s side but Scully caught him by the arm. As he turned towards her she lent up onto her tiptoes and kissed him. She felt him hum in surprise against her lips but he responded at once, dipping his head to ease the pressure on her toes and wrapping a hand through her hair.

“Do you really not know?” Scully whispered as she pulled away slightly. “Do you really not know how I feel about you?” Realisation flooded his features until he closed his eyes.

“You heard that?”

“Most of it.” She confirmed. “Do you really think I don’t feel the same way about you?”

“No.” Mulder opened his eyes and looked at her. It wasn’t convincing, there was too much self-doubt written across his face. “It’s just you were adamant about no one at work finding out so I didn’t think you’d want me to tell her. And I couldn’t deny how I felt about you, she’s right – I am easy to read.” He didn’t seem upset but she was. She was devastated he didn’t think that she felt as strongly for him as he did for her.

“The only reason I wanted to keep it quiet was because I wasn’t ready for all of the jeers and the looks and the barely concealed gossiping. It’s bad enough already when everyone just assumes we’re sleeping together, can you imagine how it will be when they have actual confirmation.” Mulder frowned at her.

“What jeers? Who says things to you?” He looked ready to go back into the party and seek them all out one by one to teach them a lesson. Scully smiled. He was hopelessly endearing when he wanted to be.

“The same jeers you hear no doubt. They don’t mean anything but I just… As soon as people find out then every one of my professional achievements, pre and post our relationship, will be reduced down to the fact I’m sleeping with my partner. And I shouldn’t care what they think, and I don’t, not really, I just… Being seen as a professional is important to me that’s all.”

She wasn’t sure she was explaining herself well enough. She needed him to understand it had nothing to do with him personally. Being in a relationship with a co-worker was different for a woman – he’d get a lot of pats on the back, she’d get looks that varied from judgemental to downright lecherous and whispers about how she’d slept her way to the middle.

Mulder looked guilty, which was the very last thing she wanted. She sighed in frustration.

“That makes no sense.” He told her. “You’re ten times smarter than me. By that logic people should think all of my professional achievements – if I ever have any – were because _I_ was sleeping with _my_ partner.”

“Institutionalised sexism not really known for its logic though is it?” She teased lightly. “And I’m not ten times smarter than you.”

“You’re ten times smarter than everybody.” He stated matter-of-factly.

Scully rolled her eyes but silently she was delighted. He was the only man she’d ever been with that wasn’t put out in some way by her intellect. He wasn’t threatened or irritated or jealous of it. In fact he seemed to find it quite a turn on. Now, when she ran through some complicated medical explanation or detailed a scientific idea, he looked at her with the same look he gave her in the bedroom sometimes. The one that said her seduction technique was working and he wanted to devour her whole. It was utterly distracting.

And that was the problem – she felt completely out of control with him and that’s why she needed all of her rules about hiding it at work, not fooling around in the office or when they were away working a case. She was hanging onto the edges of her professionalism with her fingernails and she needed boundaries to have some semblance of control. Over herself, not him.

“I’m sorry that you…”

“Don’t be sorry.” She interrupted him. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I’m sorry that I haven’t made it obvious how I feel about you because I never want you to doubt that.” He was looking at her with something close to wonder and her heart sped up.

They hadn’t said those words to each other yet and she’d be lying if she said the idea of saying them out loud didn’t scare her. But the feeling was so strong she could bathe in it. She was getting there and soon she would be brave enough to say the words out loud. For now she drew him back into another long kiss, seeking out his tongue with her own and pressing her body against his. Scully could feel him smiling against her mouth. Smiling was good, smiling was better than _I’m sorrys,_ and if someone came out and saw them then they came out and saw them.

“Skinner and Arlene though, _Jesus_!” Mulder exclaimed as he pulled back for air.

“I know.” Scully laughed, though not unkindly. “I thought he had a soft spot for her but I didn’t know it was reciprocated… and so strongly.”

“Well maybe a much needed conversation will happen on the drive home.”

“I doubt it. She’s drunk and upset, even if she does say something Skinner will just feel he is taking advantage of her and clam up. One step forward, two back.”

“Copycats.” Mulder teased with a false air of exasperation.

“Not anymore. We’re not going backwards, only steps forward from now on.” She said resolutely. Mulder smiled at her in that way he had that made everything alright and the tension in her belly finally passed.

“So, what is our next step forward?” He asked with more than a little suggestion in his tone. Scully arched her eyebrow at him.

“Take me home and find out.” 


End file.
